Erratum: Corrigendum: Filander ZN, Kitahara MV, Cairns SD, Sink KJ, Lombard AT (2021) Azooxanthellate Scleractinia (Cnidaria, Anthozoa) from South Africa. ZooKeys 1066: 1-198. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1066.69697.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1066.69697.].

ROV assessment of mesophotic fish and associated habitats across the continental shelf of the Amathole region.

Understanding how fish associate with habitats across marine landscapes is crucial to developing effective marine spatial planning (MSP) in an expanding and diversifying ocean economy. Globally, anthropogenic pressures impact the barely understood temperate mesophotic ecosystems and South Africa's remote Amathole shelf is no exception. The Kei and East London region encompass three coastal marine protected areas (MPAs), two of which were recently extended to the shelf-edge. The strong Agulhas current (exceeding 3 m/s), which runs along the narrow shelf exacerbates sampling challenges. For the first time, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveyed fish and their associated habitats across the shelf. Results indicated fish assemblages differed between the two principle sampling areas, and across the shelf. The number of distinct fish assemblages was higher inshore and on the shelf-edge, relative to the mid-shelf. However, the mid-shelf had the highest species richness. Unique visuals of rare Rhinobatos ocellatus (Speckled guitarfish) and shoaling Polyprion americanus (wreckfish) were collected. Visual evidence of rhodolith beds, deep-water lace corals and critically endangered endemic seabreams were ecologically important observations. The ROV enabled in situ sampling without damaging sensitive habitats or extracting fish. This study provided information that supported the Amathole MPA expansions, which extended protection from the coast to beyond the shelf-edge and will guide their management. The data gathered provides baseline information for future benthopelagic fish and habitat monitoring in these new MPAs.

Azooxanthellate Scleractinia (Cnidaria, Anthozoa) from South Africa.

Globally, South Africa ranks in the top five countries regarding marine species richness per unit area. Given the high diversity, it is not surprising that many invertebrate taxa in the region are poorly characterised. The South African azooxanthellate Scleractinia (Anthozoa) is one such taxonomic group, and was last reviewed by Boshoff in 1980. Although more recent regional publications have reported on some species, there has not been a faunistic review that accounts for the country's species diversity since then. Moreover, numerous unidentified specimens representing more than three decades of sampling effort have accumulated. In this study the authors update the state of knowledge of South African azooxanthellate coral species. Specimens, particularly those within the extensive collections of the Iziko South African and Smithsonian museums, were morphologically examined and identified. Other data considered included historic data represented as imagery data, associated species data from recent research surveys, and the scientific literature. To date, the study has increased the total number of known species from 77 to 108 across eleven families, 28 new South African records, and three are new species with one new genus.

Practical actions for applied systematic conservation planning.

Systematic conservation planning is intended to inform spatially explicit decision making. Doing so requires that it be integrated into complex regulatory and governance processes, and there are limited instances where this has been achieved effectively. South Africa is a global leader in the application of conservation plans, the outputs of which are widely used for spatial planning and decision making in many spheres of government. We aimed to determine how conservation planning in the country progressed from theory to implementation, and to identify practical actions that enabled this transition, by assessing temporal trends in the characteristics of conservation plans (1990-2017, n = 94). Since 2010 conservation planning has entered an operational period characterized by government leadership of plans, administrative rather than ecological planning domains, decreasing size of planning units, increasing emphasis on end-user products, and scheduled revision of plans. Key actions that enabled this progression include transitioning leadership of plans from scientists to practitioners, building capacity within implementing agencies, creating opportunities to integrate plans in legislative processes, establishing a strong community of practice, adopting implementation-focused methods, and balancing standardization with innovation. Learning from this model will allow other countries, particularly those with a similar megadiverse, developing context, to operationalize conservation planning into spatial planning and decision making.

Acciones Prácticas para la Aplicación de la Planeación Sistemática de la Conservación Resumen La intención de la planeación sistemática de la conservación es informar la toma de decisiones espacialmente explícitas. Para lograr esto se requiere la integración de la planeación sistemática dentro de los complejos procesos regulatorios y de gobernanza. Actualmente existen instancias limitadas en las que lo anterior se ha conseguido de manera efectiva. Sudáfrica es un líder mundial en la aplicación de planes de conservación, cuyos resultados se utilizan ampliamente para la planeación espacial y la toma de decisiones en muchas esferas del gobierno. Buscamos determinar cómo la planeación de la conservación ha progresado en este país desde la teoría hasta la implementación e identificar las acciones prácticas que permitieron esta transición, esto mediante la evaluación de tendencias temporales en las características de los planes de conservación (1990-2017, n = 94). Desde 2010 la planeación de la conservación ha entrado en un periodo operativo caracterizado por el liderazgo gubernamental de los planes, dominios administrativos en lugar de dominios ecológicos, la reducción del tamaño de las unidades de planeación, el incremento del énfasis sobre los productos de usuario final y una revisión programada de los planes. Las acciones clave que permitieron esta progresión incluyen la transición del liderazgo de los planes de los científicos hacia los practicantes, el desarrollo de capacidades dentro de las agencias implementadoras, la creación de oportunidades para integrar los planes dentro de los procesos legislativos, el establecimiento de una comunidad de práctica fuerte, la adopción de métodos enfocados en la implementación y el balance entre la estandarización y la innovación. El aprendizaje que proporciona este modelo permitirá que otros países, particularmente aquellos con un contexto similar en cuanto al desarrollo y a la megadviversidad, conduzcan la planeación de la conservación hacia la planeación y la toma de decisiones espacialmente explícitas.

Sampling methods and approaches to inform standardized detection of marine alien fouling species on recreational vessels.

Recreational vessels are important contributors to the spread of marine alien species, particularly in relation to secondary spread within novel regions. As such, these vessels should be considered a monitoring priority. The aim of this study was to identify a preferred method for monitoring recreational vessels for alien species, while simultaneously developing a framework that enables managers to objectively choose the most effective sampling approach given their financial constraints. Divers and a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) were considered in relation to four sampling approaches i.e. meanders, transects, inspection of niche areas and the collection of quadrats. Each was applied to the same 53 vessels which represented a spectrum of hull fouling cover. The most effective methods were diver scrape quadrats (Range of alien species numbers per quadrat: 0-9, Total alien species: 20) and inspections of niche areas (Range of alien species numbers: 0-5, Total alien species: 9). All methods employed using an ROV had low efficacy and incurred high costs. While scrape samples were one of the most expensive methods, this was offset by the lowest cost per species detected. Thus, it is recommended that monitoring programmes utilize scrape samples and niche area inspections, but when faced with financial constraints, diver meanders and niche inspections offer sound alternatives for detecting alien species.